Internet Safety For Children

Keeping children safe while they are on the Internet is a concern for every
parent. By its very nature most of the Internet is unregulated and is very much
still a "Wild West" situation despite laws put in place by most countries.
Ultimately it comes down to not only protecting children from accidental
exposure to online predators and inappropriate material but also preventing
their own curiosity from leading them into dangerous situations.

Depending on how tight you want security for your kids as they learn to
use the Internet there are many options including software, hardware, and
monitoring devices that can essentially lock down a computer and prevent
almost all inappropriate content from ever reaching your child. These are
discussed more fully in our videos on
cyberbullying and
kid safe webpages.

Here we are going to look at some common sense things any parent can do
without outside assistance that can avoid many problems associated with
inappropriate content that children might run into as well as actions to
take when they do.

Internet Safety Tips For Kids

This is a list of 8 lessons that every child should be taught before they
log onto the Internet. Although these lessons are aimed primarily at
pre-teens they're good to discuss with any child at any age at least once.

Do not offer or make available any personal information online. This
includes address, telephone number, full name, school name, or any
additional information that could be used to identify you.

Never post a picture of yourself on a website or send someone else
your picture without first discussing it with a parent.

Do not give out your usernames or passwords to anyone other than
your parents.

Do not do anything that would hurt other people on the Internet.
This is not only a mean thing to do it might also be against the law.

If someone contacts you using the Internet let your parents know.
Even in you think you know this person it is important that you have
your parents make sure that it is your friend.

Do not download or install any software without talking to your
parents. Some software on the Internet can be used to hurt your computer
or steal information from you.

Never agree to get together with someone in real life that you have
met on the Internet without talking about it with your parents. Even if
you are agreeing to meet with someone that you know in real life, have
your parents make sure you know who you're talking to.

Although unlikely it is possible that a stranger could be posing as
a friend in order to set up a meeting.

Curious Kids

When a child is not actively seeking out objectionable material it is
easy to block. Various software suites and kid friendly search engines will
keep almost all of this material away. If however the child is actively
attempting to access inappropriate material it becomes more difficult.
Parents are the front line of defense in this area and ultimately it will be
up to the parents to correct this behavior. Software and search engines can
help but ultimately a determined child with computer skills can do amazing
things.

Many times children seek out inappropriate material out of curiosity
alone. They know there's something out there that parents don't want them to
see and it is for that reason they feel they must see it.

More often than
not, if they succeed in finding the forbidden content, they regret that they
did. Most adults now can remember back to being a kid and sneaking into an
R-rated horror movie or staying up late to secretly watch something on
television that they were not allowed to. They often wish they hadn't seen
the movie and were noticeably disturbed and felt unable to speak with their
parents about the issue because they broke the rules in the first place.

Now imagine that same situation but instead of sneaking into the movies
you logged on to the Internet and accessed the near limitless amount of
adult content and graphic violence available today online. It is certainly
possible that kids could get some bad ideas from this situation.

Rules For Parents

Here are 7 items for parents to learn to help them not only protect their
children online but help prevent them from actively seeking out
inappropriate material.

Share an e-mail account with your child. This will allow you to
monitor their messages and keep up with their activities as well as
protect them from unsolicited mails with links to inappropriate
material.

Keep the computer in a common area of the home. This will allow you
to monitor a child's computer activities while in passing.

Do not allow your child to enter private chat rooms. These can be
blocked using certain software such as net nanny and other Internet
safety services, and many Internet service providers offer free
filtering software that will block them.

If your child reports to you a communication or information that
makes them feel uncomfortable immediately record where or with whom this
occurred. Report it to your ISP and the authorities immediately.

Bookmark your kid's favorite sites. This not only allows easier
access but also helps avoid typing mistakes that could lead to
inappropriate material. Here is a list of kid friendly sites you might
be interested in.

Spend time together with your children online to help them become a
better Internet citizen themselves. This will help protect them from the
dangers of the Internet as well as teach them appropriate behavior when
being online themselves.

Become a computer literate parent. Become familiar with tools in
which you can protect your children from the dangers of online activity.

Online Predators

It is becoming more and more common for children to be targeted by online
predators. These people could be cyberbullies from the kid's school,
Internet trolls who randomly attack anyone they find online or even sex
offenders trying to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet. Attacks from
these predators have warning signs the parents should be on the lookout for.

If your child seems startled when you enter the room while they are on
the computer or suddenly turns the computer off as you walk in find out why.
Begin monitoring online activity more closely at this point. Other
warning signs include:

Unusually long hours online

Frequent phone calls from strangers

Being uncomfortable when discussing online activity

Receiving gifts in the mail from people you don't know

These signs could be a warning that your child has been in contact with
an online predator. If you believe that this is the case immediately begin
recording any messages your child receives. If it appears that it is
possible your child has been targeted by sex offender or has been sent
pornography from someone via the Internet contact the FBI or local law
enforcement immediately as this could be a very serious situation.

Open discussions about things such as pornography and other material of
an explicit or graphic nature can help in this regard. These discussions are
never easy but as with most things it is easier to avoid damage than to
repair it later. Open communication can also help identify online predators
early and prevent potentially disastrous results.

I hope the information in this video gave you some ideas on how to make
your child's internet experience a more positive one. If you found this
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